It has come to my attention, not even sure how, that a good deal of photos from various posts are missing. Where did they run off to? Your guess is as good as mine. How long have they been gone? See last answer.

Anyway, I uploaded the pictures again and re-posted several articles including:

Qatar Airways Business Class from Manila to Doha

Air France A380 Inaugural Part I

Air France A380 Inaugural Part II

American Airlines Business Class LHR-JFK

American Airlines Lounge LHR

I still have a few more posts to “re-do”. If you see things missing, feel free to let me know. Thanks for your patience.

Last month I flew Korean Air’s inaugural A380 flight from JFK to Seoul Incheon. I took these videos from my seat while I was watching the nose camera displayed on the personal T.V.
The first video is departing JFK. It almost looks like a mid February white out, but it was just fog and rain. The second video is landing at ICN, where it was also very foggy. Enjoy!

Hard to imagine that these flat-bed first class seats, at 35″ wide & with 71″ pitch, are not the most luxurious First Class Product that Singapore Airlines Offers, but they are not. The First Class Suites on the A380 are considered Singapore’s top of the line as they are private suites marketed as “a class beyond first.” The seats below were on the flight from Singapore to Auckland aboard ship 9V-SWS a Boeing 777-300ER. Many thanks to Tay Soo for letting me up front.
Enjoy.

business class cabin

singapore fleet

A few observations on the interior of the Korean Air A380. Below are a few interior photos of the aircraft. I cannot speak to business and first class because I did not sit there or look, at length, at the seats. In economy the seat that stood out the most was 47D. It is in the center section but there is no seat in front of it. It is an aisle seat and again, not an exit row. The bulkhead seats look pretty good and will provide some extra space, but, of course, there is nowhere to stretch your legs straight out. The exit rows look fantastic, but remember there are no personal video screens during taxi, takeoff and landing to view the flight cameras. I learned my lesson on the Lufthansa A380.

The economy class is divided into 3 sections. The exit rows are “42″ in the 2nd 3rd and “52$” in the 3rd section of economy. Please note: Rows 28 (port & starboard) is NOT an exit row. The middle of that same first row is 30 and it is standard bulkhead. Have a look at the pictures and I am happy to field any questions.
I am not sure how many bathrooms this plane has relative to other A380 operators, but there was a constant line for the bathroom. This made me think that the duty free shop occupied the space that normally would have been dedicated to lavatories. Lack of bathrooms due to duty free? Cheers!

3A

2 D&E 1st class

2D first class

1st class bar

3D

forward stairs

20 A & B

celestial bar

52 H,J,K

aft stairs

aft galley 2nd floor

duty free

After the pageantry and speeches, it was finally time to fly. Each coach seat had a pillow, blanket, headphones, slippers and a toothbrush. I immediately began fussing with the brand new touch screen televisions. The purser came by and welcomed me on board by name.

The JFK-ICN inaugural flight was scheduled for 12hrs and 44min of flight time. We taxied and had virtually no wait for take-off, a miracle in itself at JFK. At 3:46pm (1hr and 46min past schedule) we were airborne. After I got over my disappointment of not having access to the upstairs bar, I began to enjoy the flight.

As soon as the pilot let the flight attendants know they could do so, the FA’s passed out pajamas to the children on board, set up a few bassinets and drew a curtain between the cabin and galley, in order to prepare for service. After 50 minutes, beer, wine, juice, soda, peanuts and a sanitary towel were offered.

Korean Air’s A380 boasts the fewest number of seats (301) in the coach cabin (and overall) vs. other A380 operators. I found this very evident in the amount of legroom I had in 36C. Also, the seat never got uncomfortably hard, like my experience with ANA’s new economy seats and was sitting on 2 pillows by the end of the flight. Much more on the best seats in the next post.
The coach cabin was bright, but not in a negative way. It was refreshing and clean looking, very un-complicated.

Dinner consisted of Korean Bimibap and seaweed soup. This is what I was offered and not sure if there were more choices. It’s delicious stuff and oddly, bimibap was exactly what I was served when I flew Korean Air Business Class.

After dinner, the show, aka duty free sales, started. It was quite chaotic. There were 4-6 fa’s in each aisle, shuffling to & fro, passing goods back and forth and speaking loudly to each other. When that concluded, the lights dimmed and I slept. I woke to an fa offering me water and banana or bread. When I woke up again, the cabin lights were on, there were 4 hours to go and the 2nd meal service was commencing.

Airline food used to, and probably still does, get a pretty bad rap. I think it’s improved considerably over the last decade. However, when people talk about “airline food” and the images that are conjured up, they were referring to the piece of chicken served on this flight. Not exactly edible. The other option was creamy pasta with vegetables. Water and OJ were offered before our 5pm arrival at foggy ICN.

The service on Korean Air has never disappointed me and this flight was no exception.
I will post some pictures of the rest of aircraft shortly.

big windows huh?

push back

note the CX tail

22R

smiling; novel concept

great stuff; where can i buy it?

“it’s ice”

2nd meal service

mid cabin

rear cabin

korean’s other a380; the 1st delivered: HL7611

New routes and new aircrafts are always a treat to be a part of. The launch of the Korean Air A380 from JFK to Seoul (ICN) was one of the latter as Korean Air has been flying the aircraft within Asia for a few weeks. Of course, each airline’s “personality” is bound to show in the context of the celebration and/or ceremony before and after the flight. For instance, when I flew the Air France A380 inaugural from JFK to CDG, there was champagne in the terminal, a band on board, special menu and small orchestra upon arrival; among other things.

This A380 launch was NOT that. But that was OK, that’s not what I expected and I don’t suspect that reflects the Korean Air culture. This was very much about business, recognizing integral, internal (and external personnel) and promoting Korean Air as the first Asian carrier to fly the A380 across the Pacific from New York.

I assigned myself seat 36C, but at check-in inquired as to whether there was any preferred seating for Sky Team Elite members. The check-in agent looked at me puzzled and said:
“Sky Team Elite… what’s that, what do you mean?”
I provided a brief explanation and then asked what was, apparently, a tougher question:
“Do coach passengers have access to the upstairs bar?”
Answer: “For this aircraft {as opposed to the other aircraft with a bar} I honestly have no idea”
At least he was honest.
What he did know was that I had access to the Prestige Lounge.

At check-in, each passenger was given a raffle ticket to deposit into a box at the gate for chance to win a free upgrade to Prestige Class. Actually, 2 names would wind up being drawn which made for 2 very excited passengers.

After some refreshments in the Prestige Lounge, I went to see the arrival of the A380. There were many photographers and members of the Korean press. Following the aircraft’s arrival, a few speeches were given by several Korean Air executives during which many people were recognized and received flowers including the pilots and flight attendants. (I wonder if they were able to bring those fresh cut flowers through Korean customs…)

Excitement was building and anticipation mounting throughout the ceremony which concluded at 2:10pm. The flight was scheduled for a 2pm departure, but nobody cared. Passengers could not get on this beautiful beast fast enough.

a few ground crew at the ready

spectators & passengers

cue water cannons

this water cannon set up a bit short

ke executives, faa personnel, jfk staff, port authority management

quick interview with pilots & then time to go

Finally. Time to hit the road again. Or should I say sky? About 24,000 miles on the docket. It feels a bit odd to only have 1 hotel night booked. I think that’s all I need, but there will probably be a day room fit in somewhere when I’m about to collapse. The very first posts I ever wrote were on a 20,000+ mile itinerary around the world. Of course, this time, I will bring the camera.

The ride will be a mix of economy, business and premium economy. The trip will include 2 airports previously unseen, add 1 airline to Planereality’s inventory and will document the launch of an Asian carrier’s double decker from the US.

Hoping this trip will feel as good as it looks on paper. You can follow Planereality on Twitter and Facebook, and of course here for all the action. Thank you for coming by Planereality.

This past Friday a Lufthansa A380 made its inaugural flight from Frankfurt to Miami (D-AIMD). The crowds were huge and sprawling along Runway 9.  The street turned into a parking lot and active railroad tracks a standing gallery. A DC-3 and DC-7 preceded the A380′s landing. In case you missed it, here is the inside of a Lufthansa A380 (D-AIMA) . Here are the photos from the event.
There are also a few other random sightings while waiting for the A380.

It’s that time of year.  The time to think about what happened in 2010, both the planned and the unexpected, and to ponder what might take place in the upcoming 365 days.  I don’t stand a chance of telling you about the latter, but I will share some insight into the former as it relates to Planereality.com

You may have noticed that I am not and expert at writing or photography.   Or blogging for that matter.  I don’t even know what blogging really means.   Anyway, there are 101 statistics that are supposed to help one evaluate whether their blog is doing what it is intended to do.

As a summation of 2010, I thought I would share one of Planereality’s statistics: Which posts are people reading and, of course, which posts are not read very much. Why? Because you may have missed a topic you are interested in. (And to generate more traffic!)

A friend once said to me: “I can’t wait until 2009″
I said: “Why?”
He said: “Odd numbered years are always better for me”

Whatever your strategy or thoughts are today,  I wish you a happy, healthy and properous 2011.  Thank you for coming by Planereality. Happy New Year!
Cheers.

posts that recieved the most traffic in 2010

Delta’s Lie Flat (Not Angled) Seats

The Lufthansa A380 trip to Tokyo

Delta’s Angled Lie Flat Seats

United’s “Old” 777 Business Class

United 747 Business Class Seating

posts not read as much

Asiana Airlines Business Class: Taipei to Seoul

Air France A380 Innagural Back to Paris

Virgin Atlantic Upper Class: Kingston to London

ANA Business Class: Tokyo to JFK

Etihad Economy Class to Manila

Just a follow up to the first post on my Lufthansa A380 flight from Frankfurt to Tokyo.  Here are some additional photos of the interior:

This was my 2nd trip an Airbus A380. The first was on Air France. This one was on Lufthansa which just started flying their A380, but on only one route: Frankfurt – Tokyo. The extra incentive for me to fly this route was that the return trip was a Lufthansa code share operated by All Nippon Airways. ANA recently launched their Spirit of Japan product on 2 routes: Tokyo-JFK and Tokyo-Frankfurt. So, for a decent price, I would be able to check out both the A380 and the Spirit of Japan. I will follow up this post with another that contains a few photos of the first and business class cabins on Lufthansa’s A380.

There was definitely a sense of excitement at the gate in Frankfurt. Many passengers were scurrying around taking photos and discussing this feat of engineering that sat a few feet away. I am even more impressed now than I was after the first time I flew this beast. It is quiet, the ride is smooth and despite a full passenger load (minus 2 first class suites) the plane accommodates everyone with ease.

Seats
I was in seat 76K for the10.5 hour journey, which has to be one of the 6 best seats in the entire economy section. Seat 76K & A have no seat in front of them, making them similar to an exit row because of the extra legroom. You can also get up anytime without climbing over anyone. On top of that, you still have a window seat. The potential drawback to these seats is that your personal TV swings up from the armrest. This TV has to be stowed during takeoff and landing which means you cannot view the tail and nose cameras during those periods of the flight. Also, the wing is SO huge that you really can’t see anything besides it. The wing must rise a good 12 feet above where you are seated and you can barely see beyond it. Seats 75B,C,H and J are true exit row seats. In my seat, I could hear and feel (in my feet) the nearby toilets flushing which can be annoying in addition to the crowds that line up at the lavatories.

Food
The fare was standard for economy class, although no economy meal has matched that of Air France. In the above mentioned seats, you will be served first in this section of economy. Hot towel service was provided before lunch and breakfast. There was free beer, wine and liquor with lunch but none available at breakfast.

Entertainment
Despite what the printed entrainment guide indicated, there was a severe lack of options to watch or listen to. The entertainment was in fact awful. There were 18 audio cd’s, not one of which I had ever heard of in addition to 7 atrocious audio books.  There were zero games to play and this may have been because there was no controller at the seat.  There were 2 TV shows, a surfing competition and fashion show. There were 6 “comedy” and 2 “action” movies. Out of those 8 movies, I had only heard of the 2 action movies: Sherlock Homes and Edge of Darkness, which for some reason, seem to be playing on every airline in the world right now.  I had 2 brief conversations with the FA about the AVOD.  She was very polite but could not really tell me the reason for the discrepancies.

The saving grace being the half dozen or so cameras and moving maps. There is a short video below of my monitor showing a 360 degree of the aircraft and the terrain it is flying over.  If you are an aviation enthusiasts, you will love these features.

After we landed, I asked a flight attendant if I could have a walk around the plane and take a few photos. The FA obliged and escorted me to the top deck where there were 98 business class seats and 8 first class suites. The FA followed my every move and politely asked me to hurry up several times. I will follow up this post with another that contains those cabin photos.  None the less, just wanted thank the FA for allowing me the opportunity.

I took over 100 pictures, but I think the ones below give a fairly accurate depiction. Shoot me an an email or post a comment of you have a question or are looking for additional pictures. Thanks!

being towed to gate

tough to even get it in a picture

boarding process

my seat 76K

view from 76K

taxiing

takeoff

lunch

aft stairs to upper deck in flight; I felt like DeCaprio in Titanic

moving map

breakfast- note the 2 tone grapes!

decending across the coast of japan

nose camera just before landing

touchdown